Instagram, like most other social media platforms, invests heavily in fine-tuning and further developing its platform. With many changes afoot, including the addition of new features and advertising options, how can your company stay ahead of the curve and keep its Instagram account effectively reaching followers?
- Interact.
The days of Instagram users earning thousands of followers through bot applications are waning. Companies that previously invested in automated services will soon notice a decline in their following and engagement data if they haven’t already. The fact is, the more you interact with your followers the more likely you are to appear on top of their Instagram feeds. Instagram rewards users who interact regularly. Use Instagram as your company’s first impression or calling card of sorts. Let it tell the story of what it is you do and how you do it.
- Post consistently.
To keep your followers engaged, it takes creative content and consistency in posting. Establishing a weekly or monthly schedule makes things more seamless. Take a few hours at the beginning of the week to design and schedule strong visual content that invites greater interaction. Add unique GIFs and videos to bring your site to life and don’t forget to add unique hashtags. Instagram has started to steer clear of generic and overused hashtags (called shadow-banning), thus rendering them useless. Consider developing hashtags associated with your brand, persona, mission or product. Consistently add your unique hashtag to posts, tweets, etc. during launches, events, contests or promotions specific to your company and encourage followers to do the same. In short, post regularly, and Instagram will reward you.
- Leverage new features.
Instagram’s wildly successful Stories feature gives users the option of adding time-limited content for followers. Akin to “pop-up” restaurants and stores, companies can use Instagram Stories to create a sense of urgency or to promote limited-time campaigns. Instagram Live delivers live streams of content and alerts followers when streams begin so they can tune in. The latest Instagram feature is an interactive poll sticker in Stories that lets you poll followers. This feature is useful for any company that wants to ask its audience’s opinion and encourage interaction. You can customize polls and, like Stories, they remain in your feed for 24 hours, providing quick-turn engagement analysis.
Since Facebook acquired Instagram, the platform delivers more features for users, while eliminating elements that clogged metrics with useless data. Staying abreast of these changes will help your company tweak its social media strategy to ensure continued success on Instagram. If your company is not yet using Instagram, Axia Public Relations can help get you started. Download our complimentary social media management guide for starting tips on your social media journey.
Wendy Bulawa Agudelo has nearly 20 years of experience in technology, business, consumer and nonprofit public relations. She serves on the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress PR Task Force and is a culinary enthusiast and champion for the special needs community. Wendy has worked for Axia Public Relations since September 2014. Learn more about Wendy Bulawa Agudelo. Connect with Axia on Twitter @axiapr or tell us what you think in the comments below.
Featured image credit: 123rf.com
Topics: public relations, online public relations, shared media
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